"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
06-15-2019, 02:07 PM (This post was last modified: 06-15-2019, 02:07 PM by Felicitey.)
Felicitey scuffs up the dust beneath her hooves as she lips a small weed that caught and struggled to make it's way up through the dry cracked earth of Pangea.
On any normal day she'd be bubbling with energy and excitement, it's who she was. But today, today in Pangea, a pout adorned her face and her head hung a little lower. The silver snowflakes dimmed upon her muzzle, and her mismatched eyes didn't seem to sparkle with her usual enthusiasm.
This was her father's land, she had been born right on it's border, her mom never let her venture past the playground, the meadow, and Pangea.. but still she has yet to meet her dad. Her mother had told her very little of him. His name was Litotes, he was archon of Pangea, and she assumes she inherited her gifts and Dexter from him.
Dexter sat in the crook of her shoulders one hand tangled in her mane the other stroking her cheek in comfort. Dexter I think I want to change, you might want to get off for a minute. even her voice and demands lacked its usual loudness and directness.
Dexter jumped from her back, as she tucked her wings in close to her sides and a crinkle of concentration graced her brow. Biteing her lips harder than necessary, she began to feel her body change and mold beneath her. She had always thought her cub form was better fit for Pangea than her equine form.
Dexter found his way back to her shoulders and grabbed gently onto her left ear to help balance, not that it was much needed in her lion body. She was closer to the ground and had more control of her legs and paws that seemed to fill out more than her scrawny equine legs.
She pawed her way through a narrow canyon coming out near the winding river. Soon she curled up, cradling Dexter close to her underbelly and began to nap beneath the summers sun. She was not in the mood to play today.
felicitey
who do you think you are? collecting your jar of hearts.
Finally healed and in shape to hunt the young lioness exits her dimly lit den, compromised of soggy soil and dried foliage, a home fit for a king, really.
The huntress shapes her shoulders and arches forward, stretching out her worn body, her back cracking uncomfortably as she slides forward into a jog, her nose low to the ground like a hound as she moves forward.
There is not much in the air, most of the scents rather bland and old, though one familiar scent of horse piques her interest, the trail leading her toward an opening as the smell transforms from a horse into a lion.
Rayie grins as she follows the scent, her body slithering around the trees as she comes close, the faint smell of lion now tantalisingly close, a stranger smell of monkey accompanying it.
Initially, she thinks the lion may have been hunting the monkey, though she soon disproves her theory as she winds through the canyon, spotting the lion neatly cuddled up with the monkey.
"Well well well, what do we have here" she whispers as she instinctively crouches down, her underbelly softly scraping against the dry dirt below, her eyes honed in on the target, now completely distracted from her original idea of going hunting.
The female creeps closer, her paws folding against her chest as she slithers close, she cannot afford to make a mistake now, she was in the crucial stages of the hunt.
She makes no sound as she comes within striking distance, her expression mischevious as she crouches down, her hips locked and muscles tensed "Wakey wakey!" she growls and she leaps forward, tackling the smaller lion with her paws, claws still sheathed as she lands beside her, still grinning.
"Sleeping in the open isn't a great idea you know. Not out here" she nods, the summer sun lighting up her coat as she strides closer to the female "Now tell me, who are you?"
Her peace and rest was short lived when she was suddenly tackled awake. The suddenness simpley surprised her, as she did not hear anyone or anything approaching. Though she couldn't hear much with only one good ear, and Dexter had seemed to fall into a deep sleep curled up in her protection, which apparently she wasn't very good for.
Her body rolled away from the attacker as Dexter scrambled to join her, hoping to her back and emitting a protective howl or screech of sorts in the direction of the other. Felicitey's heart seemed to be pounding a mile a minute - of course she could hear THAT in her left ear annoyingly so.
Her large, amber and sky blue, mismatched eyes found the other lioness quickly as her heart regained it's normal beat. She blinked slowly as the woman talked. A small purr crossed her lips as she rolled her eyes in response Thanks, I'll keep that in mind next time. she rolled her shoulders and stood up from the crouched position she had rolled into. It's not like I've had anyone around to teach me she mumbled under her breath as she turned her head slightly to find Dexter's hand to calm him down.
I'm Felicitey, daughter of Nimue and Litotes. My mom should be back anytime, incase you were thinking of ACTUALLY attacking me she said slightly puffing up her chest. It, of course, was a lie. She had snuck off again and her mom probably wouldn't even notice for several hours, but she didn't need to know that. She perked her good ear up as her left one lay floppy in Dexter's grasp.
felicitey
who do you think you are? collecting your jar of hearts.
06-16-2019, 11:44 AM (This post was last modified: 06-16-2019, 11:45 AM by Rayie.)
Rayie
Litotes eh? How interesting, the mysterious scene seems to unfold and reveal new secrets "I see, Litotes is also my father, my mother is a bear named Caelestra. She left Pangea and gave birth to me somewhere random, I returned to Pangea by myself" she speaks confidently, remembering the long journey to Pangea at a young age, showing up on the land's doorstep as only skin and bone, hardly alive.
"It is nice to meet you anyway, I am called Rayie" he dips her head gently, sitting back down on her haunches as a small Lynx joins her side, poking his head out from behind the lioness in a gingerly manner, seeming to stare toward the monkey.
"It seems we are somewhat alike" she raises a brow, her paw raised to point toward her furry companion who now walks toward the other companion, his ears perked cautiously.
"I, of course, mean no harm, I was just curious" she nods with a coy smile, perhaps today would be a better day than she expected, she herself was rather alone, only her companion offering any form of friendship.
"I could teach you things if you wanted, we could make a great pair of hunters" she nods, standing with a stretch before moving toward the other lioness.
To Rayie, everything revolved around hunting, the adrenaline and rush after making a kill fueled her, allowed her to move forward every day.
"Have you ever been on a hunt?" she purrs tilting her head as her tail slaps her back in an effort to get rid of all the flies attracted to her blood-stained coat.
As the older lioness spoke Feliciteys attitude began to shift. Litotes was her father too, that would make her her older sister. A sibling? Felicitey had never stopped to contemplate the fact that she may have siblings. It had always just been her mom, Dexter, and herself. Excitement tiptoed it's way into her eyes and her tail swished excitedly behind her. Rayie she let her sister name sit in her mouth as a toothy lopsided grin stuck her face in delight.
Her sister proceeded to offer to teach her things.. TEACH HER THINGS! Even her mother wa as hesitant to teach her how to fly in her equine form. Rayie continued to talk of hunting. And Felicitey's brow crinkled in confusion. She had never "hunted" in fact she had never fed in her lion body. The thought of killing anything made her feel uneasy. Though from the looks of Rayie it was a natural, normal thing.
In fact now that they were talking about it Felicitey could smell the iron smell of blood lingering across the lioness in front of her and her stomache gurgled beneath her. She licked her lips as she considered what to say.
No.... I have never hunted before. My mom doesn't share this form with me. In fact you are the only other lion I have met. she said with small hesitation.
felicitey
who do you think you are? collecting your jar of hearts.
The huntress tilts her head gently as her newly found sibling explains her lack of hunting experience "Well then, we have got to do something about that" she smiles teasingly, her paw moving her companion off to the side, the hint of a whisper escaping her dry maw before the Lynx scampers off into the foliage in a hurry.
"When you're hunting, you have to ignore everything around you, focus on the target at all costs," she says as she lowers her head to the ground curiously "I usually exit Pangea when looking for food, there isn't much big game around here. Though you can quite easily find little snacks" she grins, the sound of an alarmed hare coming closer each minute.
"When you are stalking your prey you must become invisible and silent" she says lowering herself to the ground, her shoulders arched as she begins to slither closer to the foliage "You need to blend in as much as you can, and learn to become patient, if you strike too early to may fail" she whispers with a smile, the alarmed hare now bursting out of the foliage, followed by the small Lynx Rayie had sent off.
The lioness now leaps into a sprint, closing the distance between the hare in a matter of seconds, her claws now digging into its flesh as she tackles it, sinking her jaws into its body.
Rayie lets go of the small critter and stands on it with her paw "Here, you can kill it" she moves it closer to her sibling as she sits down, softly panting from the short burst of the sprint. The now starts screeching loudly, wriggling whatever body parts it could in an attempt to get away.
If she could not kill such a small animal, there would be no point in hunting in the first place.
"Go ahead" she teases, her companion watching from the sidelines, fighting the urge to kill the creature he had chased toward the pair of lions.
Felicitey watched and mimicked as Rayie explained some tactics of hunting. She was not paying attention when Rayie's companion took off nor to the sound of the hare scurrying around nearby.
She watched intently as Rayie crept on her belly closer to the foliage not far off, a mock hunt! Felicitey's eyes fluttered with amusement, but jumped back in surprise as Rayie's companion scared the hare into the opening in their direction.
Her eyes bulged and her jaw dropped as Rayie pounced on top of it taking its body in her mouth. The smell of fresh blood flooded the air, tantalizing Felicitey's nostrils. It was strong, irony, the smell of life itself.
Felicitey closed her mouth, her body still dipped low to the ground with Dexter plastered low to her back. His fur, mixing and melding with her own. Rayie told her she could kill the hare as in wriggled and screamed beneath her grasp. Felicitey's tail twitched back and forth behind her in anticipation, despite the anxiety of right and wrong.
Her dormant lion tendencies rose above. She crept and crawled her way over within pouncing distance. Her big mismatched eyes looked from the hare to the other lioness. How do I do it? she asked not sure how to end its life in the most easiest of ways.
felicitey
who do you think you are? collecting your jar of hearts.
Rayie tilts her head slightly toward her sibling, there was a question of morals in deciding how to kill your target, though Rayie did not pay much attention to it all, her aim was to kill as quickly and as cleanly as possible.
"Well, it's up to you really" she grins, it was up to the hunter whether they wanted to be cruel or forgiving "With small critters such as this little guy, it is easiest just to snap its neck, clamp your jaws and sink your teeth into their throat. With large prey such as deer you will want to tackle them and then suffocate them, placing you muzzle over theirs" she uses her paw, motioning toward the rabbit "With big prey you take their breath away, suffocate them entirely, without hesitation. You can of course also puncture their throat but that is less entertaining in my opinion" she grins walking even closer to her sibling.
"Go on, I'm feeling rather hungry" she teases, moving back to where her companion was laying.
The lioness sheathes her claws and takes a seat, raising her shoulder to clean the splatter of blood that now neatly sits atop her fur, most likely from the recent mock hunt.
While she cleans herself her eyes are situated on her sibling, staring curiously to see how she would kill the animal
Her companion now moves toward the wriggling rabbit, intent on finishing it himself, Rayie's throat rumbles in the distance, her tone assertive toward the smaller Lynx who now walks away with a hiss.
"It seems my little friend is getting impatient" she laughs quietly, curling her body into a position she can comfortably rest in, her head situated atop her paws, watching her sibling.
The decision was now in her paws as her sister backed away leaving her to her own accord. She peered down at the hare and watched the fear splay across its eyes as the shriek began to die in defeat. She felt it wriggle as she applied more pressure to keep it contained. She looked to its neck emotions rolling back and forth as she made her final decision. Her jaws clamped against it's neck, penetrating fur and skin. Crimson blood dawned her lips as the sweet iron blood swept the inside of her mouth. Quickly like she had done it a million times before she snapped the hares neck, its body falling limp beneath her.
She pulled away, the hares eyes ghosted over I death, laid there and a smile crept across her face. I did it she exclaimed as she looked towards the lynx and her sister, victory of her first kill rattled her body in slight shivers. She picked the dead hare up and brought it to her sister, placing it on the ground infront of her paws. Blood soaked the ground as she looked to Rayie in delight.
felicitey
who do you think you are? collecting your jar of hearts.
Rayie watches her sibling snap the hare's neck in half, ending its life in a heartbeat as crimson-red liquid covers the surface of its neck and begins to cascade down the multiple folds and curls in its grey hide, collecting in a pool right in front of her feet.
"Good job. Though next time be quicker" she says smoothly, unable to give out compliments, she was a lot better at picking at someone, selecting their faults and making sure they knew of them, it was how she coped, along with hunting it allowed her to remain quiet and peaceful, refusing to go insane even though the world seems to point her in that direction.
Rayie flicks her tail gently and nods at her companion, allowing him to feast on the carcass. The Lynx, who is already drooling all over himself, leaps up from behind her and pounces on the hare as if replaying the hunt. The small cat rips into the Hare's body and begins to feast.
"It gets a lot easier over time" the female speaks again, her tone rather quiet "Killing, that is" she looks toward her sibling, her face expressionless "At some point, you don't care. You lose all control and don't care for the animal's emotions, nor their family, it's all just a blur" she huffs, unsure as to if she was contending with herself or trying to prove a point "You'll kill by instinct, creating a shield for your emotions" Rayie rolls onto her back, stretching out her legs comfortably.
"Where are your parents anyway?" she asks, tilting her head toward the other female, her eyebrow raised curiously, Rayie had only met her father once or twice, seeing him wander in Pangea from time to time, though she did not converse with him much, as for her mother, Rayie did not know where she would be now, though she knew that she probably did not miss her much.
A part of her is glad to have found one of her siblings, while happy in solitude, the company was most definitely helpful, especially in rough times.
